The $43bn State Super will look to slash emissions in its investment portfolio by close to half by 2030 as it embarks on the path to net zero by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement.
State Super, also known as SAS Trustee Corporation, took the decision to target a 45 per cent cut in emissions by 2030, and to hit net zero by 2050, to protect members’ financial interests, CEO John Livanas said.
“Fundamentally, our primary objective is to ensure members’ best financial interests are met. And really, the whole decarbonisation of our portfolio is through that lens.”
Members supported the fund taking a view on climate risk in the portfolio, he added.
“If we didn’t take climate risk into account, we wouldn’t be able to provide members investment returns without taking enormous risks,” he said.
The fund’s chair, Nicholas Johnson, noted the shift in the investment landscape amid the widespread green push.
“It has become abundantly clear that in acting in the best financial interests of members, superannuation trustees must respond to the investment risks associated with climate change and seek to mitigate them.
“It is equally important for them to realise investment opportunities that will come from the transition to a low-carbon economy, including from new technologies, initiatives and policies over short-, medium- and long-term investment horizons,” Mr Johnson said.
State Super’s 45 per cent reduction by 2030 will be in the weighted-average intensity of carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO2e, emissions by revenue against an end of calendar 2020 baseline.
This is versus the Paris Agreement’s 2010 baseline, making State Super’s target more ambitious, Mr Livanas said.
Several Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) gather to form a human chain reading “+3°C SOS” on the Champs de Mars near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on December 12, 2015, on the sidelines of the COP21. French hosts submit the final version of a global climate-saving pact to negotiators at UN Conference on december 12. The goal is for ministers to approve the agreement by the end of the day but that could be extended one more day. Photo by Clement Martin/Sipa USA
As the majority of its baseline emissions are found in its equities holdings, it will firstly target reductions in this portfolio, before moving to alternatives and real assets. It will adjust the portfolio over time to ensure its emissions decline progressively.
Rather than opting to divest carbon-intensive industries, the fund will continue its engagement with companies through its investment managers and the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, he added.
“It’ll be up to the investment managers to decide which holdings to divest or to engage, but fundamentally, our policy is to actually work with a company to look at how they will divest or how they will move their own emissions towards a carbon neutrality.
“If everyone were to divest from the difficult companies, it would mean we wouldn’t be helping. But by working with companies, making sure that they’re engaged towards a carbon-neutral future, we hope we’ll be able to get there quicker.”
A leftist millennial who rose to prominence during anti-government protests has been elected Chile’s next president.
With 56 per cent of the votes, Gabriel Boric on Sunday (Monday AEDT) handily defeated by more than 10 points lawmaker José Antonio Kast.
At 35, Mr Boric will become Chile’s youngest modern president when he takes office in March and only the second millennial to lead in Latin America, after El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele.
While Gabriel Boric was elected president, his wife, Irina Karamanos, may not take on the role as first lady.
Speaking before the election, she announced that she could resign her role as first lady if her partner was elected.
Gabriel Boric and Irina Karamanos.
Irina, as Boric tells her now -before he used to call her “companion” – declared: “It is a position that deserves to be rethought because we are in different times, a lot of things have changed and you have to rethink power and the relationships that emerge from it ”.
The new president supports Karamanos with his position, and was even more forceful than his partner. The referent of Approve Dignity – the coalition that brings together the Frente Amplio and Chile Digno – said that it would suppress the figure of the first lady because “it does not make any sense.”
“There can be no positions in the State that have to do with or are related to the relationship of the President”declared the 35-year-old leader, who stressed: “We must create an instance that is transparent, depending on merits and of civil service careers, and not of blood ties or affinity with the President ”.
Karamanos would not be the first Latin American woman to resign. In Mexico, Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller took off the title of first lady when her husband, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, became president in 2018.
Karamanos is 32 years old, is of Greek descent and studied Anthropology and Communication Sciences in Germany.
While most Greeks travel to Australia in search of a better life, something was bothering Arthur Antonopoulos and in 2000 he decided to leave Melbourne, his parents and his beloved cricket, to settle in the land of his ancestors.
He led an adventurous life plucked from the pages of the Beatniks generation and today delivers its core to the public: The book ‘Dark Athens,’ surrounded by a haze of mystery, which is enough for the reader to baptise him as the Greek Australian, Dan Brown.
Athens of 1932 dances a passionate tango with Athens of 2009. That’s when the flames of protest over the economic downturn sparked a wave of demonstrations. In one of them, Arthur Antonopoulos participated with a friend.
“I was accidentally in the centre of the city when it was burning. We walked a lot that night, in various parts of the city and noticed the first symbols and monuments, which are the main material of my book,” Arthur Antonopoulos tells The Greek Herald from a small cafe near the Australian Embassy in Athens.
“The stop of time” is the name of the cafe and reveals what state the Greek Australian writer is currently in. At a time, when everything has stopped so that he can enjoy his unexpected success.
The book was released a few weeks ago and already the first edition sold out.
“I didn’t expect it. It came fifth in sales when it was released throughout Greece. It exceeded all expectations I had,” says Antonopoulos, whose parents continue to live in Melbourne.
“They were greatly moved when I sent them the first copy with the dedication I wrote for them. They understood that I came to Greece with a purpose and that I succeeded. That my labours bear fruit.”
The expatriate writer is now looking for ways to publish the English version of the book.
“It’s hard, because I’m starting out of nowhere. People will have to teach me first. To see that I worked hard. I am taking steps to find a publishing house to distribute my book abroad but it is still early for that.”
The plot of ‘Dark Athens‘:
With influences from the American writer, Steve Berry, the prolific, Arthur Antonopoulos already has his second book ready. The first, ‘Dark Athens,’ however, has already created a group of loyal fans, trying to solve its puzzles.
“The plot unfolds in Athens in 1932, where many excavations and erections of important monuments were carried out. In 2009, I started writing the book and I wanted it to be a police novel with a historical background, with which I would guide the tourist who comes to Athens and convince him that this is not a city they could see three days. Through the novel we learn about underground Athens, its symbols and its history,” says Antonopoulos, whose book is the result of personal research.
“This is the story of Ariadne, who returns to Athens when a major newspaper gives her a unique professional opportunity. An interview with the Prime Minister, Kodros (the first King of Athens).
“There begins a mystery story. With her life in danger, she discovers that a symbol she sees everywhere around her, in the streets of Athens, in ministries, flags of countries and large multinational corporations is not accidental.
“It is only the beginning of a new world reality… Most characters are based on real people, the plot is a creation of my imagination, but anything that refers to historical events and places in the city is the product of research.”
Now, his immediate plans are to travel to Thessaloniki for the research of the second book of the trilogy: The ‘Dark Thessaloniki.’
The return to Australia:
Memories of his childhood are interspersed with beautiful pictures. Even the “mountain” of three-hour Greek learning in a Melbourne tutorial seems ideal today.
“At the time I didn’t like it. But today, I understand that it was necessary. I had a very beautiful childhood. I used to go to a school where most of the kids came from immigrants. We played cricket and Australian football in the neighbourhood for hours. I received a lot of love from my parents,” recalls Antonopoulos, who wasn’t sure he wanted to be a writer when he was little.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to be. I studied at the University of Monash in the Department of Fine Arts. In the fourth year, Mr Andronikos, who was the Head of the Department asked me if I wanted to do an investigation into the “Blue Book” of Stratis Myrivilis. He was a journalist in the First World War under the pseudonym “Small Pencil”. So I got a scholarship to Greece and started my research on him.
“It was then that I fell in love with the blue sky and the fine weather of Greece. My love especially for Athens began in 2007 when I first thought about the idea of the book.”
Is he now thinking of returning to Australia? “Not for permanent residence. However, in May there is the Antipodes festival and earlier the “writer’s festival” will be organised, so I will try to combine a visit for these occasions”.
Although the chaos of Athens is disorganising its resident, Arthur Antonopoulos was not affected in any way. “The mess suits me, though I want to be tidy in my life. Maybe because I want to put the mess in order.
“In Athens I feel alive, in Melbourne I rest,” says success-driven Arthur, who most likely will become now a full-time writer.
“I’ll risk it. And my father took a risk when he came to Australia. This is what I will do,” he tells us and it is like telling the perpetual history of Hellenism, the pioneers of new pursuits…
In six years, Bill Vlahos managed to defrauded friends, family and others of $17.5 million, giving away dodgy punting advice.
Now, he’ll spend the next nine years in jail, serving six before he is eligible for parole, for ripping off 71 people in a large-scale punters club he ran between 2008 and 2013.
The Edge was promoted as a betting syndicate where punters could capitalise on Vlahos’ self-described genius for devising a mathematical formula for picking the right horse and his connection to an international betting expert, Daniel Maxwell, also known as “Max”.
But “Max” was a work of fiction and instead of laying the forecast bets he promised his members, Vlahos kept their money and used it to fund a life of luxury for himself, wife Joanne and their two children.
Bill Vlahos (left) outside court in 2016. PHOTO: JASON SOUTH
Judge Douglas Trapnell said Vlahos emailed The Edge members betting sheets on Friday nights and Saturday mornings, outlining the horses he claimed he would back at meetings in Melbourne and Sydney. On Sundays, he emailed sheets of the results of those races and details on how the punters allegedly fared.
But the sheets bore no resemblance to what Vlahos did with the money, Judge Trapnell said, as the punters’ club was essentially a Ponzi scheme, where the greater the number of participants, the more money went his way. At one point, The Edge had 1800 members.
Vlahos was in 2016 charged with more than 350 counts of fraud and was accused of misappropriating $129 million. But after weeks of negotiations between his lawyers and prosecutors in 2019, he pleaded guilty to two rolled-up counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, and admitted he defrauded 71 people out of a combined $17.5 million.
Judge Trapnell said Vlahos’ deceptions and persistent offending – which continued into 2013 even though his scheme was near collapse and police were investigating – had a devastating and traumatic impact on many.
Horses race at Melbourne’s Flemington Park. Photo: Michael Klein.
“I assess your moral culpability as being very high,” he told the 56-year-old, who watched the online sentence from prison.
“It is clear you must have known the impact your offending would have on the victims.
“Yet you continued your deceptive scheme unrelenting and unrepentant. The audaciousness of your behaviour is breathtaking.”
Judge Trapnell said there was no suggestion Ms Vlahos knew of the scam or was complicit in her husband’s crimes.
He accepted Vlahos was motivated by “sheer greed, a need for personal financial gain and a desire for self-aggrandisement”.
Modern Greek tennis stars by the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari have inspired a wave of new young guns looking to make their mark on the tennis world.
Dimitra Pavlou is one of them.
At only 17-years-old, Dimitra has impressed on the junior stage and is ready to turn pro.
The Greek Herald speaks exclusively with Dimitra to talk about her professional rise.
TGH: Why did you choose to play tennis?
Dimitra Pavlou: I started playing tennis when I was 6 years old, as my grandfather, Dimitris Kanellopoulos, was a tennis coach and playing the sport is, in a way, a family tradition.
TGH: Are you coming to Australia for the first time and which tournaments will you be attending?
Dimitra Pavlou: Coming to Australia was one of my biggest dreams and I feel immense joy that I’m able to make it happen. I will be coming to Melbourne on the 10th of January and will first take part in the Category 1 Junior Tournament to be held in Traralgon from the 12th to 19th of January. I’ll then compete in the Australian Open Junior Championships in Melbourne on the 19th of January.
TGH: Can you tell me some of your biggest moments from matches that you remember even today?
Dimitra Pavlou: I remember all the matches I played, but the most important are the matches with the National Team in the Pan-European Girls Under-16 Championship that, although I was 15 years old, reached the top 8. Also the first places I won in the Pan-Hellenic Junior and Women’s Championships, my participation at the age of 16 in the Women’s National Team and, of course, my last matches in professional tournaments through which I got a ranking in the WTA world women’s ranking.
TGH: Do you continue your studies? How do you do it?
Dimitra Pavlou: It is a bit difficult in Greece with the school as I am a student of the 3rd Lyceum, but I’m very lucky because the teachers and the Principal of my school support me and help me whenever I need it.
TGH: Do you have a goal in what you want to achieve?
Dimitra Pavlou: My first goal is to be able to become a professional tennis player, and my dream is to be able to reach the top 100 of the world rankings.
TGH: How do you spend your free time?
Dimitra Pavlou: I spend my free time with my family and my friends. We like to go for walks in the Historic Center of Athens and watch theatrical performances.
TGH: Do you enjoy traveling?
Dimitra Pavlou: I really like traveling and meeting people but at the moment my travels are limited to those of sporting obligations.
TGH: Where do you imagine yourself in ten years, both professionally and in your personal life?
Dimitra Pavlou: In 10 years from now I imagine myself as a successful athlete and I would like in my personal life to have people around me who I love and they love me.
TGH: What message would you like to send to the Greeks of Australia?
Dimitra Pavlou: I would like to say a big thank you to all the Greeks of Australia, firstly because the Greek heart beats louder in the Greeks of Australia and every time Greek athletes come to Australia, with their support and enthusiasm, they make and feel like we have not left the country. I hope when I come to meet as many Greeks as I can and make them proud.
A tight friendship bond between Sydney man Raymond McClure and his GP, Dr Peter Alexakis, is under investigation in the NSW supreme court, The Guardian reports.
Before his passing, McClure made multiple wills from 1986 to 2016, the court heard, leaving his multi-million dollar estate to the Salvation Army, one of his only friends Hildegard Schwanke and her daughter, and Frank Camilleri, a business partner he had known for almost 50 years and who had maintained the apartment buildings.
However, in the last few years of his life, McClure developed a close bond to his Greek Australian GP, ultimately deciding to leave him 90% of his $30m estate.
All three parties and Alexakis are contesting the will in a dispute that has been the subject of a two-week supreme court hearing that finished on Friday.
McClure falls ill
In 2017, McClure became seriously unwell. Alexakis, who had known McClure for about four years, would describe him in court as the sickest patient he had ever treated.
McClure was in palliative care because of a variety of health problems, including diabetes, colorectal cancer that had metastasised, a bowel obstruction, prostate enlargement, cataracts and lymphedema.
Alexakis spoke fluent greek like McClure and was the only person who regularly visited the 83-year-old in hospital. And because McClure was suspicious about other medical professionals and lawyers, he became increasingly reliant on Alexakis for more than just social interaction, Alexakis said.
In early June, McClure met with a solicitor in hospital with a view to changing his will. The solicitor, Angelo Andresakis, had been introduced to McClure by Alexakis. Alexakis told the court McClure had asked him to put him in contact with a lawyer to change his will, but had not discussed his planned changes – including that he planned to include Alexakis in the will – or the extent of his estate.
The court heard that Andresakis had completed Alexakis’s father’s will, performed work for Alexakis’s wife and her family for decades, and his firm had previously authorised a will on behalf of another patient of Alexakis who had gifted the GP $80,000. McClure was not aware of this existing relationship at the time of the meeting, the court heard. Andresakis denied he was obliged to disclose the extent of the relationship and said Alexakis had never told him that he expected to be a beneficiary of the will.
The first will Andresakis made for McClure allocated 65% of the estate – worth about $30m – to Alexakis. The second, which was made the following month and authorised after McClure had returned home from hospital, bequeathed 90% to the GP.
Lawyers for the Salvation Army, the Schwankes and Camilleri say Alexakis’s conduct during this period in mid-2017 is central to their case that he should not receive 90% of the estate.
Raoul Wilson SC, acting on behalf of the Salvation Army’s legal secretary Gary Masters, told the court it should find that a deal had been struck between McClure and Alexakis: firstly that the GP would get his patient out of hospital, and secondly that he would do all he could to ensure that McClure was able to receive the care he needed at home so he would not be admitted again.
Alexakis denies such a deal existed, but gave evidence that McClure had offered him $10,000 to get him out of hospital, which he refused.
Although Alexakis gave evidence he had never discussed McClure’s will with him, Wilson pointed to evidence to the contrary.
One witness said McClure told them he had multiple conversations with Alexakis about removing the Salvation Army from the will because of allegations regarding historical sexual abuse within the institution. McClure, the witness said, claimed Alexakis told him he should consider taking the Salvation Army out of the will, and he later decided to “leave my money where it could do some good. Peter is a good man.” Alexakis denied the conversation ever occurred.
Justice Trish Henry will hand down her decision at a later date.
The party island and the dream vacation spot. Mykonos and Santorini are two of Greece’s most prized and popular holiday locations for international tourists.
Consequently, this has resulted in a significant reduction in visitor satisfaction, as well as inhabitant living.
A government-commissioned study looks to put an end to this over-tourism issue, however, aiming at turning those popular Cycladic islands into models for sustainable development and management of increased demand for accommodation and entertainment.
The study constitutes a blueprint of measures managing the number and timing of tourist arrivals on those two islands, as well as a series of administrative initiatives and investments in crucial infrastructures.
Scorpios Club Party.
“Mykonos and Santorini constitute two iconic tourism brands, which due to their appeal also affect to a significant extent the national image of the Greek tourism product,” Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias tells Kathimerini.
“Consequently any problems these islands face are reflected on the broader picture. Given the the government’s determination to turn Greek islands into paradigms of sustainable development, including Mykonos and Santorini will have multiplying effects.”
“For that purpose we have discussed with all parties concerned and drafted two action plans for those islands with an integrated policy toward the action required for meeting the strategic objectives.
“These are improving the inhabitants’ quality of life, strengthening the visitor experience, making development sustainable increasing tourism revenues,” says the minister.
Kikilias notes that “with the cooperation of the entities involved, these two islands could constitute a global case study on the transition to a new era in conditions of sustainability and prosperity.”
Health Minister Thanos Plevris has ruled out introducing anymore harsh restrictions in the country, however continues to push for increased testing and vaccinations.
Speaking to Skai TV on Monday, the Health Minister said Greeks will be able to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve uninterrupted.
“There are currently no thoughts of lockdown-style restrictions,” he said.
He added that there are internal discussions for a mandatory Covid-test for the general population, for both the vaccinated and unvaccinated, allowing authorities to have a better understanding of the epidemiological situation in the country.
Photo: IANS
Plevris said that although currently experiencing a de-escalation of the fourth coronavirus wave, Greece should be bracing for the fast-spreading Omicron variant. He said a fifth wave is likely to hit the country in January.
Greece has so far registered 26 cases of the Omicron variant in Crete, Laconia and Attica.
One day prior, the Health Minister told Mega TV that testing measures should be primarily directed towards the unvaccinated.
The Epidemiologists’ Committee is expected to meet in due time, while the new measures are expected to be announced on Wednesday, December 22.
Many countries and cities around the world have gone all out this year to keep up the tradition of decorating their Christmas trees to mark the special holiday.
Here is The Greek Herald’s list of the top five trees you need to look into:
The Capitol Christmas Tree always stands proudly on the West Front Lawn of the US Capitol in Washington DC. The 84-foot-tall white fir tree is decorated with handmade ornaments created by Californian residents. The tree is lit from nightfall until 11 pm each evening through Christmas.
Latvia:
Photo by Edijs Palens / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images.
A Christmas tree in Riga, Latvia is getting attention this festive season. Made entirely from waste, the artwork encourages people to produce less waste and sort household trash during the holiday season.
Philippines:
Photo by Ryan Eduard Benaid / Nurphoto via Getty Images.
The big Christmas tree of Antipolo City, Philippines is 44 feet high and illuminated with colourful lights and ornaments. Made of some 40,000 plastic water and beverage bottles, the giant Christmas tree is the city’s version of the YES (Ynares Ecosystem to Green) Christmas Tree.
Singapore:
The decorated Christmas tree at Changi Jewel in Singapore is a big hit with visitors. The tree is 16 metres tall and visitors can also be treated to magical snowfall daily, starting from 6.30pm until 10.30pm.
From the birth of Jesus Christ to traditional Christmas carols, the vasilopita and the Blessing of the Waters, Panagiota Andreadakis’ second bilingual alphabet book for children has it all.
The ABC of the Twelve Days of Christmas aims to reconnect children and families with the religious and cultural traditions celebrated during the Orthodox Christmas period from December 25 until January 6.
Panagiota tells The Greek Herald she decided to write the book as she “wanted to get the Greek heritage, traditions and religion into every household no matter the level of Greek vocabulary.”
“I was raised in a family with strong Greek cultural and religious values that became a part of who I am,” Panagiota, who also wrote The ABC of Greek Easter, says.
“My series of books are a way of preserving this heritage and passing it onto the next generation.”
Panagiota’s new book does exactly that. Beautiful illustrations, attached to letters from the Greek and English alphabets, capture the interest of young readers and help them understand the meaning of things such as the fasting period, the Saints and even Christmas hymns.
“Some of the illustrations include members of our family. This made it very ‘real’ for me, bringing back memories of Christmas from my childhood…” Panagiota says.
“My favourite illustration is the vasilopita as it resembles family, unity and faith. It was very important to me to find a way to demonstrate to children how and in what order it is cut.
“I placed the coin in the centre to symbolise that the coin is in the cake and could be in anyone’s piece once cut.”
It’s clear The ABC of the Twelve Days of Christmas holds a very special place in Panagiota’s heart and she says she can’t wait to see it on people’s bookshelves soon.
“It is the perfect heirloom and keepsake gift for your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, godchildren, baby shower, birth of a baby, christening, to have on display or include in a beautiful gift or hampers,” she concludes.
“It is the perfect gift for under the tree this Christmas!”
The ABC of the Twelve Days of Christmas can be purchased from www.stelakis.com.au or participating stockists listed on the website.
Panagiota is also holding two competitions – ‘Vasilopita Colour-Me-In Competition (7-11 years old)’ and ‘Christopsomo Colour-Me-In Competition (3-5 years old)’ – which you can find out more about via www.stelakis.com.au.
